Week TenSunday, February 2, 2003
Weight: 4 lbs. 3.5 oz. (1916 grams)
Feedings: 30 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)
BM: GreenWe were told today that we should stop
expecting her to go home in early March. Because she is still on
the ventilator we should expect her home in the middle of April (if
everything goes well). This was disheartening. We really
want her home, but understand that we have to do what is best for her.Bailey is about the same today as she
was yesterday. Her breath rate was raised to 32 BPM and her
pressure support (how much pressure the vent gives her to help her take
a self initiated breath) went up to 13. I don't know if I have
ever mentioned it before, but all of the pressure settings on the vent
are measured in centimeters of water. Her CPAP stayed at 8.
Her oxygen needs declined slightly to 37%. Her stool is green
again which makes me worry that she has another infection. The
green stool seems to come and go with her infections. She has also
had some trouble with regular BM's so the nurses have been giving her
suppositories.The following pictures are from Baileys
bath.

Monday, February 3, 2003(Click
here to go to Father's
thoughts)
Weight: 4 lbs. 5.5 oz. (1970 grams)
Feedings: 32 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)
BM: GreenBailey's day today was about the same
as yesterday. Her breath rate was increased to 36 BPM and her
pressure support stayed at 13. Her feedings were increased to 32
cc to help her gain some extra calories for use in lung development.The cultures they took a few days ago
came back positive. They showed that she has
Klebsiella. The doctors have decided not to give Bailey any
antibiotics at this time. They will watch her closely and see if
her body can fight off the bacteria. I guess they figure she is
old enough (and big enough) to try and fight this on her own. The
main reason they have decided to wait on the medication is due to the
fact that they want to avoid any side effects from another prolonged
period of antibiotic treatment.Tuesday, February 4, 2004
Weight: 4 lbs. 6.5 oz. (1992 grams)
Feedings: 32 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)
BM: GreenNot much changed today. All of
Bailey's vent settings stayed the same. She extubated herself
again today at about 3:30 pm. The following are pictures of my
beautiful daughter.

Wednesday,
February 5, 2003(Click
here to go to Father's
thoughts)
Weight: 4 lbs. 7.5 oz. (2032 grams)
Feedings: 32 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)
BM: GreenThe hospital called today to inform us
that the Doctors are concerned about Baileys slow weight gain. She
looks huge to me, but I trust the doctors opinion over my own.Bailey's vent settings have not
changed, and she has been on 45% oxygen. It is comforting to not
see here take any steps backwards, but it is also frustrating to see her
not make any progress for long periods of time.The ophthalmologist came in today to do
another checkup on Bailey. He was surprised to see how bad her
eyes had gotten in such a short period of time. Bailey's right eye
has progressed to Stage 2+ and her left eye is slightly worse.
The doctor said he would be back in two days to check on her again and
that she would most likely need surgery this weekend. The surgery
would use a laser to cauterize the abnormal growth of the vessels.
This also stops the development of the eye. Bailey will lose some
peripheral vision, but she will go blind without the surgery. The
doctor also told us that there is a 20% chance she will go blind even
with the surgery. We are really worried.Thursday, February 6, 2003
Weight: 4 lbs. 10.5 oz. (2110 grams)
Feedings: 34 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)
BM: Yellow
Ab. Girth: 30 cmBailey's breath rate was lowered to 28
BPM today! Finally, some progress.Today Bailey was put into what we call
her asylum crib. As you can see from the pictures this crib looks
like what you would expect to see some kid caged up in if they happened
to be in an insane asylum during the time of World War II (even more so
when the sides of the crib are all the way up). She is getting big
enough that Bailey can not only handle, but needs more stimulation.
They have asked us to being in a mobile, a bouncy chair, music, and
anything else that we think she might enjoy.This crib reminds of how little she is.
It is much larger than her past beds and makes her look tiny.

Friday, February 7, 2003
Weight: 4 lbs. 13 oz. (2188 grams)
Feedings: 34 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)The ophthalmologist came today.
He said that Bailey's eyes were not yet bad enough for surgery. I
asked why they wait to do surgery instead of doing it as soon as the
problem is diagnosed. He told me that sometimes babies fix the
problem on there own. She was given a blessing again today and the
worsening of her eyes has slowed considerably. The doctor said he
would come back on Sunday to do another checkup.Bailey's set breath rate has dropped to
22 BPM. All the rest of her settings have stayed the same.Saturday, February 8, 2003
Weight: 4 lbs. 13.5 oz. (2192 grams)
Feedings: 37 cc of Breast Milk (30 cal)Not much change today in Bailey today.
The only two changes were that her breath rate was lowered to 20 BPM and
her feedings were increased to 37 cc.Bailey is beginning to act like a real
baby. She now gets bored laying on her back all day. If she
is un happy she arches her back and tries to roll over (this is a major
no-no because of her breathing tube). To help remedy this problem
we try not to hold her in a laying down position any more.
Sometimes we lay her on a pillow on our lap and make faces at here.
We also bought her a Winnie the Pooh mobile and a bouncy chair.
She liked her mobile, but she didn't use her bounce chair at all today.
Maybe she will use it tomorrow. We also got on the ball as parents
and bough our daughter a crib and mattress that now reside in the
computer/nursery.We are still nervous about her eyes and
look forward to the ophthalmologists visit tomorrow.